My Last Herceptin Infusion

[Susan Rankin]

Hi,

Tomorrow I will have my last Herceptin infusion. I started weekly Herceptin on June 21, 2005. I will post on how I feel after I have been off of the drug for awhile. I hope my joint pain will be better, fingernails stronger, hair healthier,and more energy. I have gained about ten pounds since starting Herceptin and I hope this will come off as fast as it came on.

This support group has been so helpful and I keep all in my prayers.

Susan Rankin

[RhondaH]

May God continue to bless you. I TOO will be done w/ Herceptin (8/10/06) and look forward to all that you mentioned. Take care and God bless.

Rhonda

[bobbiw]

A milestone. I am anxoius to hear when the nails get better, the hair healthier and the energy back. I am currently in my 3rd (I think) month of weekly Herceptin.
Take care.
Bobbi

[Jean]

Susan and Rhonda,
I wish both you of you only the BEST as you complete your herceptin treatments.

Hugs,
Jean

[tousled1]

Susan and Rhonda,

Completing Herceptin in quite a milestone in my book. I will be starting Herceptin on Thursday and radiation on July 5. I have a long way to go and can't wait until I reach the point that you are at. Congratulations!

[Chelee]

Susan, Thats great...a whole year done with. Yeah! It must be a nice feeling. A little light at the end of that tunnel. :) I have ALOT of joint pain too...and I always wonder if its the herceptin, or one of my chemo drugs?

After you have been off it a while..update us and let us know if you joint pain disappeared. I bet it will. Your body is going to get a much needed break...one it will appreciate.

Enjoy..have fun, you deserve it after all you've been through.

Chelee

[mts]

Pre-menopausal? Are you taking Tamoxifen? It has side effects - especially "thin nails" and thinning hair (including lashes and brows).

If you are already in menopause, then the lack of estrogen will have similar "side effects". One thing I really hate is the dry, cracked heels... again, lack of hormones causes this.

Ain't this fun?

Maria

[CherylS]

I finished my last round of Herceptin on June 1. This week will be my first third week with out it. I am blaming the terrible joint and muscle pain on Arimidex. I would be thrilled to find out it was the Herceptin. Since I am used to having it every 3 weeks I imagine it will take a while to notice any difference. In fact my onc. pharmacist told me that with the half-life of Herceptin some remains in your system for 4-5 months. About that time we should be hearing from HERA about 1 year vs. 2. Do you think we'll all end up back on it? Wouldn't that be something. I will also chime in on how I am feeling in a few weeks/months. I suppose it will be a gradual thing and we may not notice a lot.

[rinaina]

Hope to hear good things from all you post herceptin patients. I have two more chemos with A/C yet and then rads and then herceptin separate from the rads so I have a long way to go yet but it will be nice to hear how well everyone is doing and encouraging too.

[Mgarr]

Tomorrow is my last dose of Herceptin too. It is a double edged sword, can't wait to be rid of my muscle pains but I am losing my security blanket.

Mary

[Jade]

I'm also done with Herceptin on July 17/06, so there'll be a lot of us with some good feedback, I'm sure.

I pray for myself and for all of you incredibly brave women (I truly mean it, your courage amazes and humbles me) that this trip to Hell is OVER and we can get back to doing what we do best, nurturing and making this world a better place. None of us deserved this crap. What a ****ing waste of life!!!! GOODBYE CANCER you piece of ****!!!!
(Thanks team - just had to vent!)

A special hi and hug for you "Al from Canada". One day at a time...

Hogs & quiches,
Jade

[LOPSIDED]

I'M HAPPY FOR YOU SUSAN. I AM DOING HERCEPTIN WKLY FOR 1 YEAR. SO FAR I'VE BEEN ON IT 1 MONTH AND I LOOK FORWARD TO MY LAST TREATMENT. ITS NICE TO HEAR FROM PEOPLE THAT HAVE FINISHED TREATMENTS THAT I'M GOING THRU----IT GIVES ME HOPE. PLEASE NOTE ANY CHANGES THAT YOU NOTICE. I'M HOPING JOINT PAIN GOES AWAY. TAKE CARE SHEILA

[Susan Rankin]

I did have my last Herceptin treatment today. It is nice to have it behind me but if my oncologist would say let's do it for another year, I would be ready. I feel like I have lost my security blanket. I'm scared to death the cancer will come back.

I really think the Femara is causing my joint pain. I had been on Arimidex but switched to Femara five weeks ago due to the tremendous amount of knee, elbow, feet pain. I think Femara is worse. I think I will go back on the Arimidex. While taking the Femara I have noticed ankle swelling, bloating, weight gain, fatigue much more than when I was taking the Arimidex. Maybe it is the Herceptin.

I will keep you posted on how I feel in the next couple of weeks/months. Thank all of you for your prayers and support. I appreciate all the messages you have sent to me.

Susan

[sherri]

I'm done with Herceptin too. I hope I go back to my normal weight and normal climbing and hiking. I was feeling out of breath during my hike and much slower than before. But I'm so grateful for Herceptin because the most important issue for all of us is to get our health certificate and done with all drugs. H O P E for all of us!

[Barbara2]

I finished June 21 with 1 year of weekly Herceptin. Have also gained 25 lbs (I'm short; not good; some people have posted here that the weight "fell off" of them after Herceptin. I've never had an ounce fall off in my life, but we'll see!! ) and am looking forward to staying away from the oncology office for a while. I wish I would have taken a test to see if Herceptin will work for me, but too late now.

Debating whether or not to take out the port.

Blessings to you all.

[heblaj01]

Several posts are complaining about joint pain apparently caused by various drugs.
I wonder if Omega-3 fish oil pills might help relieve this type of pain if it involves inflammation.
Omega-3 fatty acids act as anti inflammation agents (COX-2 inhibition) in a way similar to Celebrex but without cardiovascular side effects.
They may also help control weight as they tend to increase the metabolic rate.
Since every case is different ask your caregiver if you might benefit or not from this kind of supplementation.

[Becky]

I was done with a year of Herceptin on June 16 but will be continuing until the end of September because my onc wants to keep me on Herceptin until I hit the coveted 2 years since diagnosis. Giving me 5 more (every 3 week) treatments will do that for me. I felt it was a logical move and agreed to this strategy (so it was alittle weird thinking I might be done and then not be).


My onc thinks out of the box to hopefully keep me out of the box. He does not want to do the second full year unless there is data from the Hera trial but does feel that continuing until 2 years post diagnosis (with only 5 extra treatments) could be in my best interests (even though I am doing well).

Hopefully all of you will be able to report weight loss (easy wgt loss) so I can look forward to that too.


Kind regards

Becky

[DeborahNC]

My last Herceptin was Wednesday. This was by my own choice. I did 7 out of the 12 months recommended and both my onc and breast surgeon concurred with my decision. I do have the option to start again if I feel the need for security or if there is progression. Right now I just feel that my body needs a rest.

Best wishes to you!!

[Yorkiegirl]

My last weekly Herceptin will be on August 28, 2006.

WOW there sure are a lot of us getting thru the one year.


Vicki

[Jean]

To all of you! I just had my fifth herceptin trt yesterday - I look forward to posting my completion.....all good wishes to all you!

Jean

[Susan Rankin]

Hi,

My oncologist recommended I leave the port in for two years following treatment. It does not bother me at all and I think I will have to go in once a month to have it flushed. I pray I will not need it again but it would be nice to already have it in place if treatment is needed.

Susan

[geraldine]

Great news Susan,

I should be coming off Herceptin next month, after 2.5 years and i am a bit scared.

I know I will have to come off it at some stage, but knowing it sooner than later is quite daunting.

Best of luck to you and everybody else who is in the same boat.

I will watch with interest, your threads regarding this issue !!

God Bless you all

Geraldine x

[Unregistered]

I have 5 more Herceptin treatments (weekly) was diagnosed Dec 2004. Did ACX4 TaxolX4 then herceptin.Am on Arimidex for 4 1/2 more years (unless something better comes along!) My Onc suggests leaving port in for6 mo-1 year...not sure what to do. Was staged IIB, ER/PR+ Her2 3+++, i node multifocal.
Marcia

G-d Bless all of us!